Direct Line with Vladimir Putin will be held on April 17 at 12 pm

The annual special Direct Line with Vladimir Putin will be broadcast live by Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV channels, and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations on April 17, 2014 at 12 pm Moscow time.

In line with tradition, the President will answer questions from Russians regarding public and political affairs and the socioeconomic life of the nation, as well as international affairs.

As in previous years, Vladimir Putin will answer questions not only from the studio audience, but also from people around the country, with whom the President will communicate via video linkup set up in various Russian cities. People can also call or text the call centre. For the first time this year people will also be able to send in short video messages. Questions to the President can also be posted on the special website www.moskva-putinu.ru. Questions are welcome during the entire week leading up to the broadcast.

Vladimir Putin will answer the most interesting and relevant questions selected from those sent to the call centre and the website.

The call centre began its operation at 12 pm Moscow time on April 10, and will take calls until the end of the live session. Calls can be made from any part of Russia to the following toll-free number: 8-800-200-4040. Calls from both mobile phones and landlines are free of charge. Residents of Crimea and Sevastopol can now call a special toll-free number: +7-495-539-2442.

Questions to the President can also be posted online in the Ask a Question page on the website www.moskva-putinu.ru, or москва-путину.рф. For the first time ever this year people can send in short video-files using the same website or a special mobile application.

Mobile text messages can be sent free of charge to the number 0-40-40 from telephone numbers issued by Russian mobile operators. Questions should be written in Russian and contain no more than 70 characters.